FARRIT

FARRIT : Finding All Resources Relating to Idaho Topics

Collections of Idaho-Related Materials in Idaho Libraries

Boise Public Library

Boise Public Library maintains an Idaho collection to provide current and historical information about Boise, Idaho, and the Pacific Northwest as it relates to Idaho. Detailed collection development guidelines were created in 1999 to guide the growth and direction of the collection.

All of the materials in Boise Public Library's Idaho collection are listed in the library's catalog.

Boise State University

The Idaho collection development guidelines for Albertsons Library state: "Albertsons Library maintains a research collection of Idaho materials. This collection provides information about Idaho and supports research for Boise State University faculty and students and the community. Monographs of 49 or more pages about Idaho, by an Idaho author, and/or published by a small press in Idaho are collected, with these exceptions: documents, cookbooks, genealogy and consumable materials. An Idaho author is defined as a person who was born in Idaho and/or is living in Idaho at the time of publication."

The complete Idaho collection development guidelines for Albertsons Library are available online.

Caldwell Public Library

Caldwell Public Library purchases general Idaho and southwest Idaho publications for a special reference collection. The library buys at least one copy of all new Caxton publications and encourages donations of out-of-print Caxton titles and local high school yearbooks.

College of Idaho

N.L. Terteling Library collects books by local and Idaho authors, books about Idaho, and reprints of out-of-print Idaho titles that have received good reviews. The library does not try to collect Idaho genealogy or genre fiction.

Hailey Public Library

Hailey Public Library owns the Martyn Mallory Photograph Collection, a unique collection of 2,500 original prints and negatives documenting the history and cultural development -- and the mining and sheep ranching industries -- of Central Idaho during the late 1800's and early 1900's. HPL also collects current information on Idaho and the Wood River Valley and maintains a small Idaho Reference collection. A current addition to this collection is a record compiled over a four year period by Sawtooth Engineering about the historic cemetery at Hailey.

Idaho Center for the Book

The Idaho Center for the Book is an affiliate of the Library of Congress Center for the Book and is currently located at Boise State University.

• The ICB archive contains materials related to Idaho authors, gathered primarily for the preparation of "Idaho by the Book," the ICB literary map of the Gem state. The archive includes letters, photographs, bibliographical citations, and clippings.
• The ICB also contains artists' books by Idaho authors, plus information relating to artists' books (and the artists) selected for the ICB's biennial statewide traveling exhibition of Idaho artists' books, "Booker's Dozen."
• The ICB keeps an extensive collection of Idaho publications and photographs from before Idaho's Territorial status (such as Lapwai Mission Press imprints) up to -- and through -- its early statehood days.

The ICB also publishes monographs and videos about Idaho presses and publications. Shortly, the ICB will be publishing six facsimiles of artists' books by James Castle and a booklet about Castle books.

Idaho State Historical Society Library & Archives

The Archives of the Idaho State Historical Society maintains and oversees collection of the following: state archives, manuscripts, sound recordings, film, photographic materials, oral histories, and maps. The Library branch oversees reference materials -- books, periodicals, and microfilm -- used by the public and staff for research.

University of Idaho

Special Collections at the University of Idaho Library maintains a Day-Northwest Collection that focuses heavily on Idaho, as well as an Idaho Collection of state documents. The library keeps copies of all University of Idaho theses, many of which relate specifically to Idaho. The general collection also contains considerable Idaho related material.

NARA's Pacific Alaska Region 

Although not an Idaho library, NARA-Seattle holds Idaho records from the Atomic Energy Commission, U.S. District Courts, Department of Energy, U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Bureau of Land Management. Additionally, they hold a number of records from the Mine Safety and Health Administration relating to the Sunshine Mine Disaster of 1972.